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The Colometric Structure of Homeric Hexameter , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 27:2 (1986:Summer) P.125

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The Colometric Structure of Homeric Hexameter , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 27:2 (1986:Summer) P.125 BARNES, HARRY R., The Colometric Structure of Homeric Hexameter , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 27:2 (1986:Summer) p.125 The Colometric Structure of Homeric Hexameter Harry R. Barnes 1. Introduction More than fifty years have passed since the publication of Hermann Frankel's seminal article, "Der homerische und der kallimachische Hexameter," yet there is still no end in sight to the debate over the colometric structure of the verse. l Among the questions that have yet to be resolved are these: How many metrical caesurae does the hex­ ameter have: is it divided into two cola by one principle caesura at the mid-line, or into four cola by the mid-line caesura and two 'lesser cae­ surae'? Are these 'lesser caesurae' structural elements of the verse or merely reflections of natural word placement or other metrical charac­ teristics-that is, did the poet feel a positive impulse for word-end in metrical positions other than the verse-end and the mid-line caesura? If so, does that mean that the poet perceived the hexameter as a com­ posite of four smaller segments, or that the verse had taken form origi­ nally from a merging of four such segments? Why did the poets avoid word-end in certain positions under certain circumstances, in compli­ ance with the prohibitions of Meyer's Law and Hermann's Bridge? (There is also, of course, the prior question whether Meyer's Law ap­ plies to the Homeric hexameter at all, or only to later hexameter.) Is the relative absence of word-end in certain positions (bridge) the result of a desire for word-end in others (caesurae)? If so, might this help us to distinguish between the lesser metrical caesurae and other positions where the high incidence of word-end is simply coincidental? These questions have been discussed from such a variety of per­ spectives, theoretical and practical, that it would be impossible to comment upon all of them here. I leave to others the more theoreti­ cal questions, why a caesura is a caesura and what exactly is bad about a bridge violation.2 I must also omit discussion of recent inter- 1 GottNachr 2 (1926 [hereafter 'Frankel')) 197-229; a revised version appears in Wege und Formenjrilhgriechischen Denkens (Munich 1955) 100-56. 2 For a comprehensive review of the rhythmic and phonological theories pertaining to caesurae and bridges see W. S. ALLEN, Accent and Rhythm (Cambridge 1973 [hereafter 125 BARNES, HARRY R., The Colometric Structure of Homeric Hexameter , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 27:2 (1986:Summer) p.125 126 COLOMETRY OF HOMERIC HEXAMETER esting attempts to demonstrate the derivation and development of the hexameter from Indo-European metrical forms.3 What remains after these exclusions is an analysis of the colometric structure under­ lying the realized hexameter verse, based upon earlier statistical stud­ ies of such phenomena as frequent word-end and restrictions upon word-end, as well as the preference of the various metrical shapes for one or another position in the line. I will evaluate several current hypotheses, focusing in detail upon the 'four-colon' theory first pro­ posed by Frankel and on the alternative 'two-colon' theory defended vigorously by those who accept G. S. Kirk's refutation of Franke1.4 Many of my observations here are based upon the metrical studies of Eugene O'Neill Jr, documenting the patterns of word placement in the hexameter, and H. N. Porter, an adherent of a slightly variant four-colon theory, emphasizing the tendency of words to conform to metrical cola.5 'Allen')), and A. M. Devine and L. D. Stephens, Language and Meter (= American Classical Studies 12 [Chico, Calif., 1984]). 3 For example, B. Peabody, The Winged Word (Albany 1975) 30-65, has suggested that similarities between the caesural structure of the hexameter and those found in certain Vedic and Gathic metrical forms demonstrate the Indo-European origin of the hexameter. He would derive the hexameter from stanzaic construction of two earlier line forms, each of which already possessed its caesura. M. L. West, "Greek Poetry 2000-700 B.C.," CQ N.S. 23 (1973) 179-92, saw the origin of the hexameter in the combination of a hemiepes and a paroemiac, without addressing the question of cae­ surae within these two forms. G. Nagy, Comparative Studies in Greek and Indic Meter (Cambridge [Mass.] 1974), suggested that the internal dactylic expansion of a phere­ cratean was the generating principle behind the hexameter. This approach was devel­ oped further by A. Bowie, The Poetic Dialect oj Sappho and Alcaeus (New York 1980, assuming a four-colon hexameter; on the basis of similarities of diction and ostensible colometric similarities between hexameter and Aeolic verse, Bowie deduced the exis­ tence in an early phase of the tradition (Le., in the 'oral period') of a widespread poetic vernacular including both Ionic epic and Aeolic lyric. For a strong statement of the agnostic position, advanced in rebuttal of West and, by extension, of Nagy, see A. Hoekstra, "Epic Verse and the Hexameter," in Epic Verse Bejore Homer: Three Studies (Amsterdam 1980 33-53. 4 G. S. KIRK, "Studies in Some Technical Aspects of Homeric Style," YCS 20 (1966) 75-152 [hereafter 'Kirk')). Kirk has once again taken up the subject of colom­ etry in The Iliad: A Commentary I (Cambridge 1985 [hereafter 'Commentary']) 17-35. Kirk's views on the colometry of the hexameter have remained largely consistent in the two decades separating the publication of these works. The greatest difference lies in the attention that Kirk now gives to the possibility of a three-colon verse, which he terms the "rising three-folder," to be discussed below. 5 E. G. O'NEILL JR, "The Localization of Metrical Word Types in the Greek Hex­ ameter," YCS 8 (1942) 105-78; H. N. PORTER, "The Early Greek Hexameter," YCS 12 (1950 3-63 (cited hereafter by authors' names). I have also had the advantage of J. T. McDONOUGH JR, The Structural Metrics oj the Iliad (diss.Columbia 1966 [here­ after 'McDonough']), a computer-based analysis of word placement based on the entire Iliad (rather than the I,OOO-line sample used by O'Neill and Porter) in which every word is indexed by metrical type and verse position in tables that allow one to consult BARNES, HARRY R., The Colometric Structure of Homeric Hexameter , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 27:2 (1986:Summer) p.125 HARRY R. BARNES 127 I may state at the outset that, despite the controversy generated by the four-colon theory and the remaining questions and uncertainties, it is my conclusion that the important points of the four-colon theory have not been refuted. While the four-colon model may yet require revision and refinement, critics of Frankel and Porter have failed to produce an alternative two-colon model that accounts satisfactorily either for the positions in the verse where word-end is avoided, or for its real or apparent lesser caesurae.6 2. Development oj the Four-Colon Theory In the nineteenth century Hermann and Meyer demonstrated that word-end is avoided in certain positions of the hexameter under cer­ tain conditions.7 Maas defines Meyer's First Law as follows: "Words the actual lines in the text. Because this dissertation is not as widely known or available as the two articles, I refer to it only when I have used it to obtain information that could not have been derived from O'Neill or Porter. Throughout this paper I use the standard numerical system for describing the metrical schema of hexameter: 1 11h 2 3 31h 4 5 51h 6 7 71h 8 9 91h 10 11 12 6 Recent opinion has largely rejected Frankel in favor of Kirk, whose views have achieved the status of a prevailing orthodoxy. Allen 118, for example, indicates his position by referring the reader to Kirk for discussion of four-colon lines. R. S. P. BEEKES, "The Structure of the Greek Hexameter," Glotta 50 (I972) 1-10 [hereafter 'Beekes'J, esp. 1, states that "Frankel's theory was modified by Porter ... and refuted by Kirk." M. L. WEST, Greek Metre (Oxford 1982 [hereafter 'West']) 35-39, does not even mention the four-colon theory in his treatment of the hexameter. According to R. Janko, Homer. Hesiod and the Hymns (Cambridge 1982) 36, "Porter's theory of a quadripartite hexameter has been refuted by Kirk and Beekes, who argues persuasively that the 'rules' for the hexameter are due to the desire to avoid the pattern - = - ~, with a premature closing cadence." He is referring to Beekes' proposal (9), "Perhaps to avoid the suggestion of verse end long final syllable is avoided at 8 and 10." It is ironic that a similar explanation, first offered by Porter 03: "The adonic cadence, which has a 'dying fall', was appropriate to the end of the line and to the end of the first half line, the second colon, but any suspicion of it was avoided in the first and third cola of the line"), was refuted in the case of the third colon by Kirk's observation (78f) that an adonius does not fit between the mid-line caesura and position 71h or 8: "Even with the avoided word-end at 71h (without accompanying word-end at 8 or 7), the closest that we can get to an adonic sequence is ~ ~ -- (with a masculine caesura preceding) or ~ -- (with a feminine)." Further, while Beekes' suggestion might account for infrequency of long final syllables in position 10, it does not explain the frequency of short final syllables in 91h, which could also suggest the adonic cadence.
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